U2'S New Album was Worth the Wait

I've been a die-hard U2 fan since the mid-1980s and have purchased every album they have released over the years and have enjoyed almost all their music. They are an amazing band that I've had the privilege of seeing almost a dozen times in college, including once at the Super Bowl in January of 2002.

The band has also been a big part of my kids lives as I bought several of their Live DVDs in the early 2000s, including the Vertigo tour and Live at Slane Castle. I spent many evenings and more car rides than I can remember watching these videos with my kids when they were still in their pre-elementary school stage.

One of my great memories is seeing U2 in Tampa at Raymond James Stadium for their No Line on the Horizon tour. I'm not a huge fan of that particular album, but the tour performance was great, especially the chance to hear Ultraviolet live again. Ultraviolet from the Achtung Baby tour was an example of U2 at the peak of their power.

That's why I was excited to hear that U2 was releasing their new album. I had been tracking stories and rumors of it for over a year and was disappointed when it was not released in early 2014. I liked the song Invisible but apparently the band was not happy with the reception of it. They kept working on it until they felt it was almost perfect and in my opinion they really got it right.

I love this album and have been listening to it on a daily basis since it was released. The more I listen, the more I appreciate the album. Just like Achtung Baby, there is not a bad, or even average, song on the album. Every song is great and the album has a great combination of rythym, rock and pop. These are songs that are going to translate very well into the tour.

I know some people are upset at the way U2 released the album, but on this topic I'm inclined to agree with my daughter who said "Wow, that's really nice" when I told her Bono and crew released the album for free. While some reviewers have analogized it to spam, I think of it more as the band giving back to its fans after all we have given the band over the years. I thought it was a great gesture and I'm excited about their upcoming World Tour. I can't wait to see u2 in person again and I'm excited to hear them play their Songs of Innocence live.

This is a 5-Star Album from top to bottom. Great music, complex with some of the best lyrics in U2's history. A truly inspired work of art from the band and proof that they have no desire to go quietly into the night.

Roger Goodell has Already Begun the Process of Changing the Culture in the NFL

Yesterday, ESPN's Tim Keown wrote a piece "Roger Goodell has gone to ground" in which he excoriated Roger Goodell for "disappearing" at this time of crisis. According to Keown "Goodell has sealed himself away from the mounting pile of rubble." While the piece, and its accompanying headline, is an attention grabber, it's not the truth. Roger Goodell hasn't sealed himself away during this crisis, he's rolled up his sleeves and gone to work to fix it. In less than two weeks, since the video of Rice surfaced, there has been a sea change in the NFL's culture. Under Goodell's leadership, the NFL has moved towards a zero tolerance policy towards domestic violence. The latest proof can be seen from the Arizona Cardinals' coach, Bruce Arians, who said that Jonathan Dwyer will not be welcome back to the team unless he is exonerated. You can also see the change in the way that Adrain Peterson is now deactivated indefinitely,even though the team's first response was that he was going to play Sunday. I have a pretty good feeling Goodell told the Vikings that was not going to happen. A similar change has taken place with the Panther's Greg Hardy who has gone from starting in week 1 to being deactivated in Game 2. He is now likely out for the season, pending the outcome of his court case.Clearly the message has become clear--If you're arrested for domestic violence, you are not going to play. NFL players will still be entitled to due process under the law, but Roger Goodell is going to suspend them immediately. That's leadership.I understand the media's frustration with the fact that Goodell has not hit the morning shows or sat down for a mea culpa on Sunday NFL Countdown, after all the media machine must be fed, but the fact is he is actually doing what is necessary to change the culture. He's not a politician running for the nearest microphone because that's not how Roger Goodell is wired. He's a guy who loves the NFL and has devoted his life to it. He's also a husband and father of daughters which probably makes the issue of domestic violence personal to him.Those in the media who say that Goodell doesn't care about women or that money is the most important thing to him are wrong. I would say that many in the media lambasting Goodell seem much more interested in promoting themselves and generating clicks than they are about domestic violence. I would challenge the media outlets that are devoting hundreds of minutes and prime column space on their websites in order to criticize Goodell to instead devote some of that precious time and space to raising money for and educating the public about domestic violence. It's a serious issue and Roger Goodell is addressing it in a serious manner by doing the single most important thing he can do--changing the NFL culture from the top down. That is what he's doing. He's not out there on a media tour giving interviews about what he "might" do, he's actually getting it done. And the fact of the matter is that Roger Goodell, who has the trust and support of the NFL owners, has a much better chance of getting it done than would a new commissioner. I know that Goodell's style is at odds with the media's need for instant gratification and that his failure to genuflect on Morning Joe means he will continue to get bad PR for the short-term. But I don't think Roger Goodell cares. I don' think he's worried about the next 24-hour news cycle. I think he's worried about the long-term and doing what is necessary to fix this serious problem on a long-term basis.R.C. O'Leary is the author of the legal thriller Hallways in the Night. Over 30 5-star reviews on Amazon for a novel in which the worlds of professional sports, politics and the criminal justice system collide. On sale for only $2.99 on the Kindle here.

The sharp Knives are Out for Goodell But He is Likely to Remain Commissioner

This time last year, the NFL was riding high. Peyton Manning was back and the NFL was sitting comfortably atop its throne as the King of Professional Sports. Everything seemed to break its way and the sport was so popular that CBS struck an agreement with the NFL to broadcast Thursday Night Football games. The league was riding high as Peyton Manning led the Broncos into the Super Bowl against the Seahawks.

But just like that, the whole narrative seems to have changed when NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell gave Ray Rice a slap on the wrist for knocking out his then fiancee. It was a stunningly light sentence and the media backlash was swift.

But the backlash over the sentence was nothing compared to the reaction when the actual video of Rice's barbaric actions became public via TMZ. That was the accelerant that turned what seemed like a manageable public relations brushfire into a serious wildfire heading right for the NFL's front door.

You see it on almost every site. The Drudge Report has been running several "NFL Hell" headlines, and the situation went from bad to worse with the disturbing report about Adrian Peterson's arrest for injuring his four year old son. What's next Goodell must be asking himself? Reports of the FBI investigating point shaving on one of the franchises?

Blood is in the water and the sharks--mostly in the form of media commentators and special interest groups seeking to capitalize on the situation--are circling what they perceive to be a weakened Roger Goodell. They think the shield has been damaged enough that they can take Goodell down which, end of the day, will do more for their own personal agendas than it will change the culture of the NFL.

But that seems to be the tacitly agreed upon endgame: Keep up the pressure until Goodell resigns. Once that happens, once the media takes him down, then the NFL will be allowed to get back to business. It truly resembles a media lynch mob: "Get Goodell!"

Nine times out of ten the media "gets their man" whenever there is this much pressure. I can only imagine the pressure Roger must be feeling when newspaper columnists claim, without any proof, that he is completely indifferent to domestic violence and only pretends to care about women. This despite the fact he is married and has daughters. Doesn't matter. Roger Goodell has now become public enemy number one and the media machine will not rest until he is destroyed.

In my opinion, it's a disgrace the way they are vilifying Goodell for the terrible behavior of a small number of bad actors. Yes he made a stupid decision with a two game suspension but should the man's career be ruined over it? Does the media and all those calling for Goodell's resignation hold themselves up to the same standard? Not even close.

In my opinion, Roger Goodell is a sincerely good guy who wants the NFL to be a force for good in society. If he could fill his team with nothing but choirboys I'm sure he would jump at the chance. But that is not reality.

Luckily for Roger, he is likely to survive thanks to the NFL shield that he has always sought to protect. In my opinion, he is almost certainly going to be supported by the owners until this situation blows over.

And it will.

The first thing that has to happen is that the NFL has to reverse the Vikings absolutely asinine/tin ear decision to reinstate Adrian Peterson. That was one of the dumbest PR moves the team could have done and I'm sure everyone at NFL HQ cringed when they saw the story. Even the Governor of Minnesota says Peterson should be suspended. And the fact is, he will. I would be absolutely shocked if Peterson isn't suspended for at least six games by close of business on Wednesday. I think he should be suspended for the season based upon the fact there are other reports of him abusing another of his sons.

But once that is done, once Peterson is suspended, if there are no more incidents--and you can be sure every player is going to be extra careful for the next few weeks--this story will, inevitably die down. You'll still have the media pushing it, but by mid-season the focus will be back on the field.

That's just a fact of life. The fact is, the NFL makes too much money to be pressured into doing anything it does not want to do.

As I think about the current pressure being brought against Goodell, it reminds me of theMasters when they refused to let in female members. Advertisers began to pull out, pressure built and the Masters announced they would simply go it alone with no advertisers. CBS, as you may recall, continued to broadcast the Masters, just like it will continue to broadcast the NFL.

Augusta eventually did the right thing and admitted female members. But it was on their terms. The NFL is going to do the right thing but it will also be on their terms--under the leadership of Roger Goodell.

The fact of the matter is there is no real way to pressure the NFL to offer up Goodell as a sacrifice for the media machine because there is no way that a large percentage (even a meaningful percentage) of fans will boycott. Roger Goodell has done too good of a job building up and strengthening the shield.

Ironically the same media trying to take down Goodell is the same media that made the NFL big enough that it can withstand this current attack and protect its Commissioner. 2014 is starting out as a bad year for the NFL, but the even so, the "shield" is almost impenetrable and there should be no doubt that it will be strong enough to protect Goodell in this crisis.

R.C. O'Leary is the author of Hallways in the Night, a legal thriller in which the worlds of professional sports, media and the criminal justice

Accepting the Fact that Your Narrator is Going to Make your book His or her "own"

While writing Hallways in the Night I knew that I wanted to eventually publish the book in audio format. I wanted to do it as an audio book for two major reasons. First, as a self-published author, I thought having an audio version available would, along with ensuring the book was error-free, help establish the book's credibility in an increasingly crowded marketplace. Secondly, I was optimistic the story would translate well into an audio book.

Fortunately, ACX.com's platform provided an extremely easy and straightforward way to achieve this goal. Once the manuscript was completed, I was able to upload a sample of my book onto the ACX platform and invite potential narrators to audition for the book. Narrators were then able to review the book and, if interested, send me a sample.Once I joined ACX, it wasn't long before Steven Jay Cohen and I decided to work together. Steven posted a sample, I listened, contacted him and we agreed to move together in a partnership pursuant to the terms set out by ACX. Everything was straightforward---ACX provided a standard contract, terms, responsibilities and deadlines were clearly defined, and ACX acts as the intermediary splitting royalties evenly between Steven and me.

I was excited based upon the initial sample I heard and confident that I found a great narrator for my book. You never know when you agree to partner with someone how things turn out, but with Steven everything was easy. His work after we reached agreement was just as good, probably better, than his sample. As a side note, he and I did speak on the phone before I agreed to have him narrate the book mainly because I wanted to get a feel for what he might be like as a collaborating partner. He came across as a genuinely good guy, and his on-line presence at stevenjaycohen.com was more confirmation that I was dealing with a true pro.

I was stoked and excited about having him read my book. When the day finally came that the audiobook was ready for me to review, Steven posted it to ACX where I had the chance to listen to Steven's narration of it. I downloaded the files to my iPad and took the "book" with me on a business trip.

It was a bit surreal as I pressed play and heard Steven utter the opening line that I had hoped would be one that hooked readers-"Sober, Remo Centrella would have never tried to make the exit." "Boom!" I thought, "he nailed it." But, as the words began to flow out of my speakers, I realized Hallways in the Night was no longer solely mine. Part of it now belonged to Steven. And his interpretation of the story, his reading of it, was different than I expected. Characters sounded and spoke differently than I expected and certain sentences, certain words, were emphasized in ways that were different than I would have done it. As I listened to the story, I realized that I wasn't just listening to my book, I was listening to to what Steven was creating based upon my work.

Truth be told, at times, his interpretation was a bit jarring. He read certain sentences, emphasizing certain words, in a way that I would not have done it. As a matter of fact, there were a few times as I listened to the book that I said to myself things like "he's emphasizing the wrong word here," "he's reading this part too slow" or "why is he rushing through that line that was supposed to be delivered much slower?" In other words, as I listened to Steven, I realized he had taken what had been solely mine and made it his own.

Which is just what a great narrator has to do. Anyone can phone in a narration. Reading a book out loud is not, in and of itself, an art. But bringing a story to life, that is something that takes work, passion and commitment. And that's what Steven Cohen has brought to the audiobook of Hallways in the Night.

Once I got over the fact that his interpretation was going to be different than how I would have read the book, I was able to let go and enjoy his performance. And as I did, I began to realize his unique reading of the book made it richer and more enjoyable for me. While I did my best to add different speech patterns and language use for each character, Steven created a unique and different voice for each character. That's one of the things I think makes the audiobook such an enjoyable and fun listen--each character, even when two characters are engaged in a rapid back and forth, are clearly differentiated from each other.

It was only after listening to Hallway in the Night that I realized how many truly different characters are in the book and how different they are from each other. They run the spectrum from black to white, young to old, Southern U.S. to Upper Crust England, and Steven made sure that each character was given their own distinctive voice.

When I finished listening to Hallways in the Night, I contacted Steven to commend him on his work and to tell him that he truly was the "man of a thousand voices." I thanked him for the immense care and attention to detail that he provided to each and every character. His efforts and commitment to his craft truly brought the book to life in a way that I could not have imagined. He added a completely new dimension to my book.

Because of that, I have had to accept the fact that while I wrote Hallways in the Night, it no longer belongs only to me. Part of it now belongs to its narrator because he put in the work and applied the dedication that was necessary to take ownership of it. It was a reminder to me of how much can be accomplished through teamwork and that sometimes what you give up in a partnership is often dwarfed by how much you can gain